“I am talking sense. Don’t you see, Paul? The only reason for taking the man’s shoes from his feet and the counterpane from the bed was to conceal the fact that it was raining when Tidings entered that house. That means that this person knew that that particular location would be the last place on earth where anyone would think to look for Tidings. It means that the person who did it knew that Mrs. Tidings wasn’t in the city and didn’t expect to return for several days. The only logical solution is that this person must have left my office Monday night, and then started building an alibi… This looks like the party we want, Paul.”
Drake glanced swiftly at the young woman who was standing in the door of the beauty shop drawing on dark gloves.
“Looks like it,” he said. “The operative didn’t miss it far. She could get my vote for Miss America any time.”
Drake shifted his eyes to Mason’s face as the lawyer remained watchfully silent. “What’s the matter, Perry?” he asked.
Mason said, “I would have bet ten to one that she would be a woman I’d seen before. I didn’t expect to find a stranger.”
“She’s the one we want all right,” Drake told him. “The operative in the car ahead is giving us the high sign.”
Mason lowered his head so that his hat brim shielded a portion of his face. “Keep your eye on her, Paul,” he said. “She may know me when she sees me. Tell me what she’s doing.”
“Finishing drawing on her gloves,” Drake said. “There she is out on the sidewalk… Just a curious and flickering glance at the operative in the car ahead… Seems to have passed us up entirely… Okay, Perry. She’s on her way. Want to tag along?”
“Yes,” Mason said. “And get this, Paul… Look up that secretary, Mattern. Find out all you can about him. Investigate particularly whether there’s any connection between Mattern and a guy named Bolus who’s the president of the Western Prospecting Company. I’m on my way.”
Mason stepped to the sidewalk, sauntered casually over to the inner lane of traffic, and moved quietly along behind the young woman.